My Apex plays both PAL and NTSC. Check out this list over at videohelp.com - check Multisystem PAL/NTSC - and you'll get a huge list of players, many which are available for cheap at a Target or Walmart, or similar.

My Apex plays both PAL and NTSC. Check out this list over at videohelp.com - check Multisystem PAL/NTSC - and you'll get a huge list of players, many which are available for cheap at a Target or Walmart, or similar.

What's the quality like on these cheap DVD players? I'm in Australia and I test my DVD encodes on a number of players and I've found that the cheap 'made in China' players exhibit serious macroblocking on DVDs even when the video bitrate reaches 8 Mpbs!

I guess that's a compromise between being able to watch a PAL DVD and not, but I'd rather watch it on my PC than have to endure sub-par picture quality...

I am in OZ too so this may help. I have a Pioneer DV-393 cost $150 12 months ago. I tried two cheap no name ones like you see advertised at the Warehouse and places like that but after a month or so they both were faulty and I had to return them. When they worked, the picture quality was fine, but that didnt last for long. In the end I said stuff it and went to Clive Anthony's and bought the Pioneer. It does PAL and NTCS as well as xvid, mpeg etc, and plays all the dvd's I make on my computer. It hasnt missed a beat, the picture is sharp, 1 year with no hassles at all. With my experience with what is avaliable here, I have found that paying a few dollars more for a quality player has been the better option.

I've been using a Pioneer DV-383 as my primary DVD player for about a year now and I've been very happy with the picture quality.

The reason why I brought up the issue was because whenever a US trader mentions they can't play PAL discs, everybody (including myself) suggests that they pick up a cheap Apex, Phillips, Cyberhome etc. player. I was just wondering what the picture quality would be like on those machines...

If you're looking for something on the higher end, one of the players I use is a Yamaha DVD-S2500. It plays NTSC and PAL progressive. Upscaling w/ the HDMI output. Plays DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD either with the Firewire output, or the 6 RCA outputs. I love it, superb picture and sound quality. Plays DVD+R Dual Layer also. Got mine last January. I do know that many of Yamaha's players (in all price ranges) usually play both NTSC and PAL, Yamaha advertises that feature.

Donald Rumsfeld briefed the President this morning.
he told Bush that Three Brazilian soldiers were killed in Iraq.
To everyone's amazement, all of the color ran from Bush's face, then he collapsed onto his desk, head in hands, visibly shaken, almost whimpering. Finally, he composed himself and asked Rumsfeld: "Just exactly how many is a brazillion?"

I've been using a Pioneer DV-383 as my primary DVD player for about a year now and I've been very happy with the picture quality.

The reason why I brought up the issue was because whenever a US trader mentions they can't play PAL discs, everybody (including myself) suggests that they pick up a cheap Apex, Phillips, Cyberhome etc. player. I was just wondering what the picture quality would be like on those machines...